This Blog Is Done

Please visit me at my new blog: http://grannypantychronicles.blogspot.com/

Or my group blog:http://southernauthors.blogspot.com/

I can’t help it. I LOVE bitchy books about women fighting over men and jockeying over social position, especially in an Upper Eastside setting. And that’s why I can’t wait to read The Elite by Jennifer Banash.

The Bramford building’s newest resident and small-town transplant Casey McCloy is adapting to life in the Big Apple and loving it. She’s got the look, the attitude, and a delish new boyfriend, Drew Van Allen. But she’s starting to have second thoughts as to whether the “New York” Casey is the real Casey. And she’s not so sure she likes herself much anymore. She’s not the only one.

Madison Macallister has always had her Manolo Blahniks firmly planted on the top rung of the social ladder—until that corn-fed cow Casey stole Drew away from her and made her look the fool. So what if Madison wasn’t exactly dating Drew at the time? She wanted him. And everyone knows that Madison gets what she wants, like Drew—and a little revenge.

Q and A with Jennifer

Where do you see yourself as a writer in five years?

Riding on a lear jet headed for the south of France with Stephanie Meyer and Alyson Noel in tow, drinking Cristal out of pairs of imported ostrich-skin Manolo Blahniks, and using $100 bills as toliet paper. A girl can dream :)

What books are on your bedside table right now?

CK Kelly Martin's I KNOW IT"S OVER, THE NEW ANNOTATED DRACULA, ENVY, by Anna Godbersen, and John Green's AN ABUNDENCE OF KATHERINES. I like to mix it up :)

What’s the funniest experience you’d had at a book-signing?

I did this one signing in a teeny-tiny town in Iowa where no one showed up. It as funny--but in that way that almost makes you cry at the same time. It happens to everyone at some point, but it was the first time it had happened to me! The woman who owned the bookstore felt really bad and kept offering me free food from the cafe next door. It was really awkward and embarrassing.

Have you ever had an unfavorable review? How did you cope?

Umm . .. yep! I don't know who hasn't! I am admittedly terrible at getting over bad reviews. I will generally obsess about them for days, and then get all melodramatic like some heroine in a Victorian novel, and will usually take to my bed with a pint of Hagen Daz and a pile of Sex and the City DVD's for a few days. I'm very "goodbye, cruel world!" about the whole thing, despite knowing that writers need to have a thick skin! when I finally crawl out of my room, I'll usually email my good friend Alexa Young to commiserate--she's been a great friend to me in times like these.

What’s next for you?

Well, the third book in THE ELITE series, SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE, will be out in July! And I'm also working on a YA series about a girl who moves with her family from Malibu, California to a castle in Romania--her parents win it in a Sotheby's auction in the midst of a mid-life crisis. She discovers a diary in the cellar that belonged to one of the most prolific female killers in history--and becomes drawn into her story in ways she never imagined possible . . .

If you have a day job, when do you get writing done and how do you manage your time?

I teach 9th and 12th grade at a private high school in Southern California, so my days aren't exactly free for brainstorming and writing . . . I generally write for a few hours when I get home at night, or on the weekends. The nice thing is that I have the entire summer off, and that's usually when the bulk of my projects get written.

Link Love

Have you ever bought a novel because the critics were crowing about it but it ended up being dull as dirt? (A certain Oprah novel about a dog comes to mind.) You’re not alone. Welcome to group griping, otherwise known as Amazon reviews.

Everyone wants to write a high concept novel but what is it really? Here’s the skinny.

Where’s the glamour in publishing?

GCC Presents Wendy Toliver author of Miss Match

Sasha Finnegan has always had a knack for setting people up, and at sixteen, she's turned her talent into an online business, molding high school crushes into true love. But Sasha finds her toughest match yet when hottie Derek Urban asks her to set him up with Sasha's gorgeous sister, Maddie. It's not that Derek isn't a good catch. In fact, after spending so much time with him, Sasha can't help but think he's perfect -- for her, that is.
Can Sasha push her feelings aside for the sake of her business? Or has this miss finally found her match?

How much do you get involved with promotion? Are you doing anything special with your latest release?
I love promoting my books, and what’s especially fun about this one is it’s a romantic comedy coming out in time for Valentine’s Day. I’m planning on doing some things that play with the whole V-Day theme, mainly online contests. ZHT 97.1FM is having a “Valentine’s Massacre” at a mall here in UT, and the big event is people diving into a huge cake in search for a diamond ring prize. I get to give away books and be interviewed. I’m also going to a really great indie bookstore on V-Day with some other Utah authors to do a singing and reading. I’m sure I’ll be doing some book tours, including Utah, Colorado, Idaho, and Nevada, but the dates aren’t finalized yet. My favorite way to promote books is school visits, and Simon and Schuster just added me to their official author appearance list, so that’s exciting.

What are the three most important pieces of advice you’d give an aspiring writer?
1. Don’t be afraid to break the so-called rules
2. Keep a notebook (or other way to record ideas) handy because you never know when inspiration strikes
3. Remember: Even if a book of yours never gets published, you learned something by writing it so it’s not a waste.

What’s the funniest experience you’d had at a book-signing?
Once I wrote “Happy Holidays!” while signing. In my defense, it was that time of year.


What’s your writing routine?
Since I’m a stay-at-home mom with three little boys, nothing in my routine is “regular.” For the most part, I have my laptop with me a lot, whether we’re at McDonald’s or I’m in my home office and the kids are hanging out in the other room with a babysitter. Between blogging, promotional work, and writing, I probably spend at least an hour a day, up to (especially when I have a pending deadline) six. But even if I’m not writing, I’m usually thinking about a particular scene or conflict or idea, so that when I’m able to write, I don’t waste too much time wondering what I’m going to write about.

What’s been the most exciting thing that’s happened to you since you’ve been published?

I’d visited two middle schools in Idaho Falls and then had a book signing scheduled later on. Only I had to balance another book signing in Pocatello as well as a TV appearance, so I was a little late getting to the Idaho Falls one. There was a huge line of young people and parents waiting for me! I wondered if they were expecting someone else, you know, like Stephenie Meyer? LOL

What’s next for you?
I’m working on LIFTED, the story about a transplant to a parochial school who learns that not all students are as pious as they seem when she’s inducted into a shoplifting clique and soon finds herself in over her head. It comes out with Simon Pulse April 27, 2010 and I’m so excited.

GCC Presents Alyson Noel's author of Evermore

Alyson Noel’s latest novel sounds fascinating and she has a really fabulous trailer. (Check it out underneath the interview.)
Sixteen-year-old Ever used to have two parents, a little sister, a dog, and a nice house in Oregon. She used to be a varsity cheerleader and go to school dances. But that was before the horrible accident that claimed the lives of her family.

Now Ever blares the Sex Pistols through her headphones and hides under her hoodie in class. She doesn’t need to listen to hear, or see to know. All she needs is to touch someone to know their entire life story, not to mention always seeing their auras and hearing their thoughts. She’s been branded a freak at her new high school in Laguna Beach as she goes out of her way to avoid human contact, but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste.

From the moment Ever first looks at Damen, she feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is. Damen is equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies, and nothing is as it seems…

Q and A with Alyson

What’s the backstory behind your latest novel?
Well, a few years ago I lost a three people I loved in five horrible months, and just when the dust began to settle, my husband was diagnosed with leukemia and it felt like my entire world was crashing down. A year later, when he was in full remission, I wrote SAVING ZOE and CRUEL SUMMER, both of which explore the subject of grief and unavoidable change. But when it came time to write my next book, I realized I wasn’t finished exploring those themes though I wanted to do so in a much different way, by giving the story a paranormal twist and pushing the boundaries between life and death, and EVERMORE just came pouring out of me.

What’s been the most exciting thing that’s happened to you since you’ve been published?
Aside from seeing my books on the shelves and hearing from readers, meeting Judy Blume and telling her she inspired my career was definitely an amazing moment!

What’s next for you?
Well, I recently finished BLUE MOON, the second book in the series, and now I’m fully immersed in the third book, which I refer to as UNTITLED BOOK #3 (though the title will probably change!). And since there are five books scheduled, I expect to be busy for awhile! What’s your writing process?

Do you outline or are you more organic?
I’m definitely a hybrid. I start with a brief and general outline of where I want the story to go, but then I delve in, getting to know the characters who ultimately determine how we all get to that final place.

How long did it take you to write this book? Did anything unusual go on during the writing?

I write every day, all day, so it only took a few months. And while the writing was pretty much business as usual, the research definitely wasn’t. I was hypnotized in a past life regression, enrolled in a three day psychic seminar with world famous medium James Van Praagh, and I immersed myself in all manner of books on metaphysics, crystals, you name it! It was a total blast!